


Strangers and Secrets

by orphan_account



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Avatar Season 2, Canon Divergence, F/M, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Smut, Zutara, also was gonna be a one-shot but is now a full-length fic, or it will be i mean
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-31
Updated: 2017-05-09
Packaged: 2018-10-13 07:09:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10508829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Katara and Zuko definitely have sexual feelings for each other. Any platonic or romantic feelings, however, have yet to catch up. Things get complicated.





	1. Shit Goes Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katara does something crazy on an impulse. So does Zuko.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Rape mention in this chapter
> 
> I'm sorry that I'm so bad at coming up with appropriate euphemisms for private parts. Also, I'm a lesbian, so I'm sure the sex scenes, of which there will be many, would be much sexier if I wasn't so uncomfortable writing about dudes' bodies. Hope you enjoy it anyway!
> 
> I hate how you can't italicize stuff on this site. All the italic bits from this aren't now. They are on fanfiction.net, though.
> 
> UPDATE: Someone pointed out to me that it would make her more comfortable to imagine that the characters are older than is canon. Definitely feel free to do that.

This was crazy, but Katara was going to do it. She owed it to herself to be a little more impulsive now and then. Okay, a lot more impulsive in this case. But she wasn't going to turn back now. Hands shaking slightly with nerves, she began to undress herself.

What was she doing in this shady establishment in this part of Ba Sing Se? she asked herself once again as she began to undo her chest wrappings. She knew it was a bad idea. She was paying to be fucked by a stranger! A stranger was paying to fuck her! What did that make her? Who the hell does that? She knew there were so many better ways to lose her virginity...

The surprisingly elegantly-dressed woman Katara paid a few minutes ago assured her that the entire experience would be completely anonymous. Neither her nor her partner, the other customer, were to speak to each other, and wouldn't be able to see each other's faces for the ten minutes of intercourse.

Katara, now naked, balled up her clothes and dropped them on the dressing room bench. /How many butts have been on that bench?/ she wondered, momentarily disgusted, before putting the situation back into perspective in her head. /There will be a random dick in you in a minute. Some butts on your clothes don't really matter right now./

Katara was equal parts excited and terrified as she left the dressing room. Anyone could be her partner! Anyone could be her partner...

She entered a tiny, empty room with nothing but a padded table that was pushed up against the wall, and a couple-feet-tall, padding-lined hole through the wall with curtains hanging in it. As instructed, Katara climbed up on the table, laid down on her back, and scooted her legs and hips through the hole until the curtains draped around her waist. Half of her was in one room, and the other half in her mystery partner's room.

Katara lied there in anticipation. She gasped when she felt a hand touch her thigh.

*******************************************

Zuko hesitantly placed his hand on the woman's thigh. He had never done anything like this before. It was strange, only being able to see the half of her that was on the table in front of him, but what he could see of her seemed nice enough. Her long legs and nicely toned stomach had a darkish tan shade. The water tribe girl the Avatar always traveled with came up in his mind. This woman must be of Water Tribe descent, he guessed. Was she a refugee here in Ba Sing Se? Zuko felt a pang of guilt. If she's a Water Tribe refugee, she probably wouldn't want to go near someone from the Fire Nation, let alone have sex with their banished prince. He shook that thought from his head. She paid to be fucked by a stranger, he thought. If she cared who was on the other side of the wall, she wouldn't be here, would she? Zuko hoped this was true.

Gently, he spread the lady's legs apart. He began to slowly rub circles around her womanhood to make sure she was wet. In response, her stomach tensed up and her back arched slightly. She seemed to be easily excitable. Bending down, Zuko lightly brushed his lips across her inner thigh, moving up to her soft mound. He flicked his tongue against her clit, causing her to squirm.

Zuko remembered that he only had ten minutes in this room, meaning there wasn't time to draw things out. Zuko stood, placed his now fully erect penis at the woman's entrance, and slid himself in. She was blissfully tight. Groaning quietly, he began to slowly but steadily thrust.

********************************************

Katara, breathing heavily, squeezed one of her breasts with one hand, and gripped the side of the table with the other. The man's penis was large, larger than Katara had expected, but losing her virginity didn't exactly hurt as she had been told it would. Whatever her partner had done with his tongue had felt so amazing, better than Katara masturbating herself. It hadn't even occurred to her that someone could do that with their mouth.

The guy was sliding his manhood in and out of Katara, slow at first, but then his pace began to quicken. Soon he was pumping so hard that skin loudly slapped against skin. It was now beginning to hurt inside, but Katara bit down on her lip to keep from crying out. She didn't want to stop him. She could feel his fingers digging into her thighs as he held her hips up off of the table for better leverage. However, the man soon stopped thrusting, and pulled out of her. Was their time up? It couldn't have been ten minutes already!

********************************************

Zuko pulled out of the woman, grabbed her waist, and started to flip her over onto her stomach. She seemed to realize what he wanted and turned over. He pulled her hips to prompt her to get up on her hands and knees. Once she did, he gripped her hips and inserted himself into her from behind. He quickly began pounding into her with an even quicker pace than before.

Unbidden, the image of the Avatar's peasant girl came into his mind. With some surprise, he found that the thought wasn't unwelcome. Although she had been his enemy, even he had to admit that she was beautiful. As he thrust, he imagined that this water tribe woman was... what was her name? Katara. Katara, Katara, Katara... he repeated over and over in his head.

********************************************

The man's thrusts had so much force that they rocked Katara forward, and it was almost an effort to stay propped up with her hands. She liked the roughness. She was no longer trying to contain her moans and gasps, since she could hear through the curtain that the man on the other side of the wall wasn't.

She could hear her partner panting, and it sounded like he was saying something, repeating something... Wait, was he... He was panting out her name! Katara thought she was hearing things at first, but as he got louder, she could hear him clearly: "Katara, Katara, Katara..." Her heart jumped into her throat. This must be someone she knew! She felt like she had heard this voice before, but she couldn't quite place it. Who was this?

Suddenly, she felt as he came into her. He pulled her hips tight against his as he climaxed, and she heard him moan loudly, "Katara!"

That's when she recognized the voice. "No," she whispered. No, it couldn't be. Katara felt him pull out of her, and she immediately crawled completely back into her side.

Katara moved the curtain aside and looked through the hole. And there he was, scar and all, standing there stark-naked and glistening with sweat. He stared back at her with shock. Zuko.

"YOU!" Katara shrieked. She reached for her bending water, but realized it was back in the dressing room with her clothes. Suddenly too enraged to think rationally, Katara slid through the hole in the wall, coming at Zuko with her bare fists. To her fury, he easily blocked all her punches.

"Katara, stop!" he said, ducking one of her swings.

"DON'T YOU SAY MY NAME!" Katara bellowed, pushing his chest, causing him so stumble backward a couple steps. "What, did you follow me here? To trick me into getting fucked by you, like some kind of sick fantasy? IS THAT IT?!" She scoffed angrily. "What, you're not man enough to fight back? Where's your firebending, Zuko?" She threw a well-aimed punch at his face, but he caught her by the wrist before her fist could collide with his face. "Don't touch me! Let me go!"

"I don't want to hurt you! And I didn't follow you here! I didn't even know it was you, I swear!"

"LIAR!" Katara screamed, pounding on his chest with her free fist, until he grabbed that arm's wrist as well. He turned her around, holding her hands behind her back, pressing her against him to restrain her as she shouted out profanities. Both of them being naked, the situation became even more uncomfortable with this.

Katara struggled in vain. "Liar! You said my name! You knew it was me!"

"No, I didn't! I..." Zuko realized that the actual explanation wouldn't help his case much either. However, seeing as there was no convincing excuse he could make, he decided to just tell her the truth. It'd be better than her thinking that he sexually entrapped her.

"I didn't know it was you. I just thought it was some random Water Tribe lady. But I said your name because I... I was thinking about you."

Katara stopped struggling. Then she spoke in a low, dangerous tone, "You hunt us, you capture me and steal my mother's necklace, you attack me, knock me unconscious, and kidnap Aang... and you think about me when you fuck?! I'm what you fantasize about at night? You creepy, deranged piece of shit!" Katara began desperately struggling again. "So what are you gonna do now that you have me here..." Her breath suddenly caught. "Rape me?"

Zuko immediately let go of her. She twisted away and turned back to him, fists up. "No!" he said, disgusted. "Of course not!" He put his hands up in what he hoped was a non-threatening gesture. "I understand how this situation looks really, really bad, and could make you feel unsafe, but that was definitely not my intention."

"Not your intention to make me feel unsafe? Not your intention?! That's always been your 'intention,' right from the start!"

Suddenly, the door flew open so hard that it slammed against the wall. Two large, tough-looking security men burst in. One one of them boomed out, "Security! We were sent in here because of all the racket coming from this room! ...Fighting racket, not sexual racket!"

The other one took in the situation. "Miss, did this young man attack you?" He positioned himself into an earthbending stance in Zuko's direction.

Katara blushed, folding her arms over her breasts. "Technically, no... I kind of attacked him... but I had a good reason for it! He-"

"Okay, okay, okay, I don't want to hear it. This sounds like it's between you two. Maybe work it out somewhere else instead of making a scene in this establishment. Now get your clothes and get out, or do we have to use force to get rid of you?"

Katara sent a searing glare in Zuko's direction. "This. Isn't. Over." She climbed back through the hole.

Zuko was left standing there with the two security guards. "Um. Gentlemen," he said awkwardly, making his nude walk of shame past them to the dressing room.

**************************************************

That night at dinner, everyone listened and laughed as Sokka told them about the ridiculous shenanigans he had pulled that day. Everyone except Katara. She just looked down, uneating, at her plate. Her anger had mostly subsided, and now she just felt somewhat empty. She wasn't sure what else to think about what had happened. She felt empty, and confused, and exhausted.

"So, Katara, what did you do today?" Sokka asked.

Katara looked up at him wearily. "Something really stupid."

"She's not lying, I can feel it," Toph chimed in, grinning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave a review!


	2. Katara Experiences Angst, Not for the Last Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sokka and Toph enjoy jokes at Katara's expense. Katara has feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Episode 5: The Angst Strikes Back
> 
> Honestly, this is so much angstier and more dramatic than I even knew i was capable of in fanfics, and that's saying something. Please don't let this ruin the amazing and beautiful Zutara ship for you.
> 
> I am aware that Katara finding out that Zuko's in the city is a fairly important plot point of season 2, since it caused Azula to find him and have him captured, then dumped in the cave with Katara. That'll be addressed in good time.
> 
> You guys wanted a chapter 2. Keep in mind that I'm a lowly fanfic writer, so if it's not of the level of quality you people actually deserve, I'm sorry. But I'm sure you'll enjoy the rest of the story anyway. I've got some plot twists planned for the future ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) and I know you guys like that.
> 
> *"dinners" as in evening meal, not afternoon meal

"Sooooo, Katara," Sokka leaned over to talk into his sister's ear, "what were you out doing that one night?"

Katara huffed angrily, placing her hand on Sokka's forehead and pushing him away. "Learn to mind other people's personal space, Sokka! And will you stop freaking bringing that up? That was four days ago! I already said that it's none of your business what I do when I'm out, so stop asking!"

Sokka grinned. "I'm never gonna stop asking if it's always gonna get that reaction." He took a large bite of meat dumpling. "But seriously though, what were you doing?" he asked thickly through the mouthful. "You've been acting pretty suspicious, Katara." He swallowed. "What, have you got a secret lover or something that you were out rendezvousing with?" he said sarcastically with a chuckle.

"No! That's ridiculous. Of course not. You're so annoying!"

Toph made a doubtful "hmm" noise from across the table. "You're right, she is being suspicious. She wasn't entirely lying, but she wasn't telling the truth, either. Um, and I'm not talking about the part about you being annoying," she added, "Katara was definitely telling the truth about that."

Sokka ignored the quip and raised his eyebrows at Katara. "Wait- I was just joking about the secret lover rendezvous thing. You do have a secret lover?! Ugh, what?!"

"Wait, what?!" Aang piped up. "Who is it? Katara, who?"

"Nobody!" Katara couldn't meet Aang's intense stare. "Really, it's no one! I'm serious!"

Sokka snickered. "Lemme guess, lemme guess- the mailman? No, no, wait- it's Ping, the custodian?"

Toph smiled evilly. "It's the Boulder, isn't it? Have you guys been having an affair behind our backs ever since the last time I kicked his butt? Totally judging you."

"No, wait, I know who it is! It's Zuko!" Sokka laughed. Katara's heart skipped a beat. "When he kidnapped you that one time, you couldn't resist his bad boy ways, and now you're in looooooove." Sokka put on a falsetto tone, "Oh, conquer me, Zuko! Steal me away into the night!" He fluttered his eyelashes.

That hit a bit close to home. "SHUT UP!" Katara shouted, slamming her fists on the table. She stood up. "I've had enough of you two! I can't even be around you. I'm going for a walk." She stomped towards the door.

"Katara, wait-" Aang started, but was interrupted by Sokka.

"'A walk'? More like a date with your new boyfriend, Priiince Zuuukooo..."

"And don't keep your other boyfriends, Ping the custodian and the Boulder, waiting!" called Toph.

Katara slammed the door on Sokka and Toph's laughter. She began running, not thinking about where she was going. She didn't want Aang or anyone else to follow her. After a few minutes, she slowed down to a walk, slightly out of breath. Katara looked around. She recognized this area. It would be easy enough to find her way back to the house from here when she was ready.

Aang would probably be looking for her. Katara could definitely see him doing that. He'd probably fly around on his glider, trying to spot her from overhead. She ducked into a nearby restaurant to avoid that possibility.

The restaurant seemed to be very upscale. It was in the upper ring, after all. Beyond the foyer, the place was packed with finely-dressed people enjoying their expensive dinners. Katara, with her usual plain Water Tribe garb, sweaty forehead, and general disheveled appearance, felt slightly embarrassed. But she sat down on an intricately carved wooden bench anyway.

The hostess at the front desk looked up and noticed Katara. The woman looked her up and down with disdain. "Excuse me, miss, do you have a reservation?"

Katara knew the lady was just looking for a reason to kick her out of the restaurant. "Uh, yeah. Yes. Yes, I do have a reservation," she lied.

The hostess raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips, not buying it. "And what name's the reservation under?"

Katara stared at her blankly for a second. "Um, Lee. My name's Lee. That's what I made the reservation under. It should be in there," she added boldy.

Narrowing her eyes, the woman opened the list book and scanned the page. Her eyebrows flew up in surprise. She looked up at Katara. "Of course, Miss Lee. Table for one in a private room. My apologies. You're half an hour late, so it seemed as if you weren't going to show up, but you must have a perfectly good reason for being late."

Katara's jaw dropped, but she quickly caught herself and closed her mouth. What a lucky coincidence...

The hostess looked Katara up and down again. "There is a dress code, however. We'll be happy to lend you an outfit."

A minute later, Katara emerged from the dressing room clad in a too-big flowered pink robe. She pulled the long, drooping sleeves back over her hands and, trying not to trip on her skirt, followed a waiter to her- or, actually, this Lee person's- curtained-off table. The waiter pulled out the single chair, and Katara sat down. He left her alone.

Katara picked up the menu, her eyes moving across it without really reading. She was too upset to focus on anything but her thoughts. She knew that obviously Sokka didn't know what had had happened between her and Zuko, but maybe that made his mockery even worse. Even the joking accusation that Katara loved Zuko after everything that happened...

Katara had been turning everything over in her mind for the past four days. Zuko had followed her and tricked her into having sex with him. Hadn't he? Katara took his explanation with a grain of salt, but assuming he wasn't lying, that still meant that he was sexually obsessed with her. And that she had helped him succeed in making his sick fantasy about her come true. And even worse still, Katara had enjoyed it. She had really enjoyed it. Before she realized who she was with, Katara hadn't wanted it to end.

How long had Zuko had this obsession with her? Katara thought back to the time those pirates kidnapped her and handed her over to Zuko. He had her tied, defenseless, to a tree, whispering in her ear, running his hands over her... Katara shuddered. What would have happened had they have been left alone longer? Would he have dared had his way with her?

But four nights ago, Zuko had his chance to try to rape her, but he hadn't. He hadn't even tried to physically defend himself against her. That fact tripped Katara up a bit. It seemed so uncharacteristic of him. However, it could be explained away. Maybe he was worried the security men would walk in on him, or maybe- Katara feared this one was true- he didn't feel the need to rape her because he had already gotten what he wanted from her.

Katara buried her face in her hands. Again, she thought, But what if everything he said was true?

But even if everything he had said was true, it was still all so messed-up...

The waiter returned just then. "Have you chosen your order, miss?" Katara looked up at him wearily. He looked vaguely uncomfortable. "...If you're having trouble deciding, would you like to hear the soup of the day, or..."

Katara realized that she didn't actually have any way to pay for a meal. She stood. "Um, no thanks. Sorry, I can't stay here. I just realized that I have, uh, a pressing engagement to get to." She hurried past the waiter before he could object.

After changing back into her clothes and explaining to the glaring hostess that she "just wasn't hungry," Katara headed back out into the darkening street. The sun was setting, and the temperature had cooled down somewhat, although it was still warm and muggy. She began her walk back to the house.

A few blocks later, she was spotted by Sokka, who ran up to meet her. "Katara! Thank goodness. Where did you run off to? Aang and I were out looking for you!"

Katara smiled weakly. "Sokka, you were worried about me?" She hugged him.

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled. "Well, you were gone for a while in a strange city. Now, let's see if we can spot Aang and let him know he can stop looking."

About thirty seconds later, Aang appeared overhead. Sokka waved his arms to signal him. Aang glided down in front of them.

"Katara! Are you hurt? Where did you go? I'm so glad you're safe!" Aang looked so relieved and happy to see her. Katara felt guilty. She knew that Aang must have been genuinely worried about her.

"I'm fine. I told you guys, I was just going for a walk."

"More like shouted it at us in a disproportionate fit of rage," Sokka said.

"What's going on, Katara?" Aang pleaded. "You look really shaken up about something. You haven't been yourself for the past few days. You act like you're keeping secrets from us. When we get back, will you please just talk to us?"

Katara looked back and forth between them. She nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember that thing I said about it not being slow burn? I sort of lied.
> 
> Sorry for the short-ish chapters.
> 
> Please review! Thanks for supporting this fic.


	3. Katara Fucks Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katara tries to tell the Gaang about what happened, but instead causes some miscommunication.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep. Katara fucks up just a bit. She really done fucks up. Get used to it. Also, if you're not already used to it from watching the actual show, get ready for Zuko to fuck up. Not in this short chapter, though.

"Zuko's in Ba Sing Se."

"What?! Zuko's here? You saw him? Why didn't you tell us earlier? This is important news!" Sokka groaned. "We can't shake him, can we?"

"Where'd you see him, Katara?" Aang asked, leaning forward. "What happened? Did he attack you? Is that why you've been upset?" Katara could hear anger rising in his tone.

"No, he didn't- well, yes, he- sort of? I don't know!" Katara didn't know how she was going to explain the encounter. She couldn't admit where she had been that night. Why had she agreed to tell them about it anyway? She could feel her face going hot. At least Toph had already gone to sleep and wasn't there breathing down Katara's neck, forcing her to tell the full truth.

"How can you 'sort of' get attacked?" Aang asked.

"I- guys, you have to promise not to freak out. Please."

"Katara, spit it out." Sokka demanded.

"I was in the outer ring, and-"

"What were you doing in the outer ring?!"

"Just exploring!" Sokka looked incredulous. Katara continued, flustered, before he could chew her out. She could feel the intense pressure beating down on her. "I was in the outer ring, and Zuko, he- he followed me. He tricked me- and- and we-" Katara's words seemed to choke up in her throat.

Sokka got up and hurried around to sit on her side of the table. He put his arm protectively around her. "What, Katara? What happened? What did he do?"

"He followed me, I didn't know it was him, and... and we had sex," she whispered. She was shocked to feel a tear stream down her face. "But I didn't want to have sex with him! I couldn't see him, I didn't know who it was until I heard his voice, he said my name..." Katara looked up at Aang, who stared back at her, wide-eyed and sickly pale. She looked back down at the table. "I didn't have my bending water- when I tried to hit him or struggle when he got ahold of me, I wasn't strong enough to fight him off..." The words poured out.

There was silence for a moment. Then, Sokka growled, "I'm gonna find Zuko, and I'm going to kill him."

"I had thought that maybe there was some chance that Zuko could change," Aang said, "but this..." His fists clenched. "We can't let him get away with this. No one hurts Katara."

"Filthy, raping bastard," Sokka hissed out. "I'll kill him!"

Katara looked up at her brother. "So you think he's a rapist?"

Sokka looked confused. "What are you talking about? You just said he came at you in the dark, you said you couldn't see him, and he- he attacked you!"

Katara shook her head. "No, that's not exactly what I said- It was kind of my own fault-"

She was interrupted by Sokka and Aang's protests.

"It's not your fault!"

"Don't blame yourself, Katara!" Sokka told her firmly. "Zuko's the piece of shit who did this."

"No, I'm saying that maybe it wasn't really ra-"

"Don't tell yourself that," Sokka interrupted again. "You're just in shock, that's all."

Katara sighed, frustrated. "That's not what I-" she sighed again. Sokka and Aang weren't getting it, and they wouldn't understand unless she told them the whole story, an idea she balked at. But even if they did hear the entire explanation, Katara thought, wouldn't they still be furious with Zuko? They'd probably still want to go after him. So did it really matter whether or not they knew the exact details, as long as the end result was the same? Zuko deserved to be punished for his perversion and deception towards her. But... Katara couldn't bring herself to like the idea of Sokka and Aang tracking him down. She wasn't sure why, but she just didn't.

"I'll be fine, you guys. I will." She wiped away her drying tears. "But you have to promise me that you won't go looking for him tonight."

Sokka, club already in hand, exclaimed, "Of course we're gonna go after Zuko! We can't just let him go free for this! There's no reason why we shouldn't go get him!"

Katara kept her voice calm and controlled, "Well, for one, the sun's already set. It's too dark out to go. Also, what if Aang goes into the Avatar state again when you find Zuko and can't control it?"

"Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing," Aang said darkly, clenching his jaw. "Why should I be calm when he's still out there?"

"Just please tell me that you won't go out there tonight," Katara pleaded. "I'm not saying that you shouldn't find him, just... not tonight."

Aang and Sokka shot a glance at each other, than looked back at Katara. Both nodded.

Katara looked down at her feet. "I'm going to bed."

"We'll just be in the other room if you need us," Sokka reassured her, his voice much calmer, but still with an edge.

The atmosphere was now quiet and tense. Katara awkwardly shuffled off to her room. In the hallway, she passed Toph, who was stumbling out of her bedroom with wildly untidy bedhead.

Katara slipped into an uneasy sleep to the sound of the rest of the group talking in low voices in the other room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, y'all.


	4. [sarcastic voice] Nobody Saw This Coming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Gaang takes things into their own hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your comments! Even if they're just quick thoughts, they really do help me shape the story.
> 
> (BTW, as I'm writing this note, I'm partway through writing the first scene. It's honestly making me so fucking uncomfortable to write- you'll see why- but in my head it looks really good, so it'll be worth it.)

Katara looked around. It was dark- the middle of the night. The moon shining in a star-dotted sky gave her just enough light to make out her surroundings. She was on a riverbank, seemingly alone.

With a jolt, she then realized where she was. All of a sudden, fear flooded her. She tried to run, hide, but she couldn't. She was immobilized, bound to a tree. And suddenly he was right there.

Katara began to desperately struggle, but the ropes were too tight. "Don't come any closer!" She said shrilly, voice wavering.

Zuko, looking just as he had that night, smirked evilly. Despite her command, he wordlessly reached out and placed his hand lightly on her shoulder. Katara tensed up. Zuko stepped around behind her out of her sight, trailing his fingers across her shoulder, up her neck, up to trace his fingertips across her jawline, across her cheek and lips. Katara turned her face away, but he grabbed her jaw and forced her head back around. Zuko leaned down, close enough that Katara thought he was going to kiss her neck, and breathed into her ear, "Katara..."

"Don't you say my name," she said back through gritted teeth.

"But I've been thinking about you," one long finger stroked Katara's cheek, "I always think about you. I've been looking for you, following you... and now I've captured you, Katara."

His lips brushed against her neck. She shivered.

Zuko pulled away, picking up Katara's braid and letting it slide loosely through his fingers as he walked back around to face her. He still wore that chilling smirk. "Now, Katara... you're mine."

He touched Katara's shoulder, and all her clothes immediately disintegrated off of her body into a pile of ash at her feet. His eyes drank her in thirstily. Chest heaving, Katara stared back at Zuko. She now didn't feel any fear or shame. The heavy anticipation that shouldn't have been there threatened to smother her. What was he waiting for?

Slowly, Zuko placed his hands on Katara's waist. She gasped at the contact. He ran a hand up to cup a breast, while the other hand slid down to her outer thigh. He jerked her leg up against him. Now with an urgency, he pressed his lips against hers, his tongue sliding into her mouth. Katara moaned into his mouth.

Suddenly, he was gone. She scanned the darkness and found Zuko far off in the distance, walking away from her. "NO!" she shrieked desperately. "Come back!"

******************************************************

Katara jerked awake, her eyes flying open. What the fuck? What the fuck?!

She sat up. She was covered in a layer of sticky sweat, and her heart was racing. A vague feeling of shame began to creep up on her.

'It was just a dream,' she told herself, 'dreams mean nothing. It was just a weird dream, that's all.' But if it did mean nothing, why was her body reacting this way?

She mentally shook herself. Come on, Katara. Stiffly, she climbed out of bed and wrapped a robe around herself. Judging by the dim lighting, Katara figured this was sometime in the early hours of the morning. The house was silent.

Katara padded lightly out into the empty living room. She got out a cup and poured herself a glass of water.

As she began heading back towards her room, she noticed a slip of paper on the table. With mild curiosity, she picked it up and glanced at it- and nearly spit out her mouthful of water in shock. On the paper was written in her brother's messy scrawl:

Katara-  
Toph, Aang, and I out to shop for food. Stay in the house and get some rest. Back soon.  
-Sokka

Katara groaned, crumpling up the note. How stupid did they think she was? Grocery shopping in the middle of the night? Although, clearly they had intended for her to not find the note until daytime, buying them plenty of time... She should have known they'd break their promise and go after Zuko!

Without bothering to change out of her dressing robe or put up her hair, Katara slipped on her boots, slung on her bending water pouch, grabbed some money for monorail fare, and ran out the door.

**************************************************************

This was hopeless. Katara had been wandering the shady, waste-ridden streets and alleyways of the lower ring for what she guessed was about an hour. She couldn't see the sun past the high buildings and walls, but she assumed it was rising, since the morning was getting gradually lighter.

In all of her haste, it hadn't really occurred to Katara how she'd actually find the rest of the group. She didn't even know where she was relative to the monorail boarding station anymore.

Just as Katara was contemplating whether it was best to keep searching or to find her way back to the upper ring, she heard a yell. Not too far in the distance, she began to hear crashes, more yelling, and general destruction- if that wasn't a sign that her gang was nearby, she didn't know what was. She ran toward the sounds.

The next street over, Katara crossed what had clearly been the scene of an all-out fight. Toph had pretty much completely torn up the street with her earthbending. Carts were tipped over on their sides, and rotten cabbages littered the ground. Katara spotted- her heart skipped- scorch marks on some of the boulders. She took off running with even more urgency now.

She rounded a corner, and there they all were! Katara ducked behind an overturned cart a ways away from the brawl as she took in the situation. Boulders, gusts of air, blasts of fire, and even Sokka's boomerang flew through the air. Toph, Aang, and Sokka were all trying to hit Zuko, but he kept swiftly dodging all of their attacks. Wait- was that Zuko? They were fighting against a firebender dressed in dark clothes and a strange blue theater mask. Katara assumed it was Zuko, since the others were all so intent on attacking this person, but why on earth was he dressed like that? Was it some sort of misguided attempt at a disguise?

Then, one of Aang's blasts of air finally knocked the blue-masked person down. Toph quickly trapped the mask wearer in a case of rock around his body. Katara stepped out from behind the cart, but nobody noticed her. Sokka stepped forward and yanked off the mask, throwing it aside. Yes, it was definitely Zuko under there. Sokka grabbed a fistful of Zuko's hair, punching the scarred side of his face. Even from a distance, Katara could tell it was a hard punch. She had never seen her brother like this, and it alarmed her.

But there were bigger problems now. Aang's eyes had started to glow. A circle of air gusted around him, whipping at his robes as he raised off the ground. No, no, no, she knew this would happen!

Katara ran as fast as she could. "NO!" Sokka and Toph, both retreating, looked over in surprise, but Aang didn't even seem to hear her voice. He was staring in dark fury at Zuko, boulders joining the air flying around him.

"Katara! Stop!" Sokka grabbed her arm, but she shook him off and continued forward. As she ran, she uncapped her water pouch and bent out the water. Throwing her arms forward in sharp criss-cross motions, the water sliced open one side of Zuko's rock confines enough to free him. He climbed out, staring at her in shock and confusion. "What are you doing?" he shouted over the rush of the wind.

"Go!" Katara yelled at him. "Run! Get out before Aang kills you!" Then she added, "And I better not see you again or I'll kill you myself!"

But before Zuko could even turn to go, Aang launched a large boulder at him. Katara launched herself forward, pushing him out of the way. "ZUKO, RUN!" The boulder missed Zuko, knocking into Katara before crashing to the earth.

Katara crumpled onto the ground, the wind knocked out of her, seeing stars. A second later, the thrashing winds stopped.

"Katara!" Aang's voice was panicked. Katara heard several sets of feet running towards her. She groaned and looked up. The others were standing over her. Aang looked concerned and scared, tears in his eyes, a stream of apologies pouring out of his mouth. Sokka and Toph looked too incredulous and shocked to be angry, but Katara figured that she wouldn't have to wait very long for the anger. Aang dropped to his knees beside her. Katara looked around. Zuko was long gone. But about twenty feet away, Katara spotted that blue mask of his, lying abandoned on the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this made sense. Any remaining confusion will be cleared up next chapter.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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